Quasiparticles and collective excitations (which are closely related) are emergent phenomena that occur when a microscopically complicated system such as a solid behaves as if it contained different (fictitious) weakly interacting particles in free space.

electron quasi particle Electron as affected by the other forces and interactions in the solid. Same charge and spin as a normal electron; is also a fermion. It has an effective mass and its electric field is screened.

photon quasiparticle / polariton Photon as affected by its interactions with the material. It has a modified relation between wavelength and energy (dispersion relation), as described by the material's index of refraction. It may also be termed a polariton, especially near a resonance of the material.

hole The lack of an electron in a state.

phonon Collective excitation associated with the vibration of atoms in a rigid crystal structure. It is a quantum of a sound wave.

magnon Collective excitation associated with the electrons' spin structure in a crystal lattice. It is a quantum of a spin wave.

roton Collective excitation associated with the rotation of a fluid (often a superfluid). It is a quantum of a vortex.

plasmon Collective excitation, which is the quantum of plasma oscillations (wherein all the electrons simultaneously oscillate with respect to all the ions).

polaron A quasiparticle which comes about when an electron interacts with the polarization of its surrounding ions

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